Megaupload mogul Kim Dotcom wins right to livestream his efforts to prevent his extradition to the U.S.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom will be allowed to livestream his legal bid to halt his extradition to the United States, a New Zealand judge ruled Tuesday.
Dotcom and three of his colleagues are appealing a December lower-court decision which allows them to be extradited to the U.S. to face conspiracy, racketeering and money-laundering charges. If found guilty, they could face decades in jail.Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty ImagesInternet mogul Kim Dotcom addresses journalists after a judge ruled that he and three other defendants are eligible for extradition to the US, outside the court in Auckland on December 23, 2015. The hearing began this week.
Dotcom’s lawyer Ira Rothken told The Associated Press he was pleased with the decision.
“It provides everybody in the world with a seat in the gallery of the New Zealand courtroom,” Rothken said. “It’s democracy at its finest.”
Rothken said the livestreaming would begin Wednesday on YouTube. He said there would be a 20-minute delay to prevent any evidence that was protected by the court from becoming public. The appeal is expected to last six weeks.
Justice Murray Gilbert, the New Zealand judge hearing the appeal, had asked other media about Dotcom’s request and didn’t receive any objections. Rothken said the U.S. had opposed the plan on the basis it could taint a potential jury pool and could cede court control over evidence.
December’s lower-court ruling came nearly four years after the U.S. shut down Dotcom’s file-sharing site Megaupload, which prosecutors say was widely used by people to illegally download songs, television shows and movies.
Megaupload was once one of the internet’s most popular sites. Prosecutors say it raked in at least $175 million and cost copyright holders more than $500 million.
But Dotcom and colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato argue they can’t be held responsible for people who chose to use the site for illegal purposes.
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Rothken said the lower-court judge made an error of law in his ruling, and that broad safe-harbour provisions protect internet service providers from the types of charges his clients face.
Lawyers acting for the U.S. in New Zealand have declined to comment on the case while it’s being litigated.
Born in Germany as Kim Schmitz, Dotcom has long enjoyed a flamboyant lifestyle. He was arrested in New Zealand in 2012 after a dramatic police raid on his mansion.
Out on bail soon after, he released a music album, started another Internet file-sharing company called Mega, and launched a political party which unsuccessfully contested the nation’s 2014 election.
More recently, Dotcom has promised to launch a reboot of Megaupload next year.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand judge has ruled that colorful Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be extradited to the United States to face criminal copyright charges.
Dotcom’s lawyers said they will appeal the decision.
Judge Nevin Dawson’s ruling on Wednesday comes nearly four years after U.S. authorities shut down Dotcom’s Megaupload website, which some visitors had used to illegally download songs and movies.

WELLINGTON — A New Zealand court granted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom access on Friday to all evidence seized by police in a 2012 raid, bolstering the Internet entrepreneur’s fight against extradition to the United States to face online piracy charges.
Repeating its decision that warrants used in the raid on Dotcom’s home were illegal, the High Court ruled that police must provide copies of evidence considered relevant to the U.S. investigation. These include materials forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A New Zealand judge has ruled that Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom can livestream an upcoming court hearing on his appeal against his extradition to the United States, where he is facing criminal charges related to online piracy.
Justice Murray Gilbert agreed with Dotcom's request Tuesday, rejecting U.S. arguments that it could taint a potential jury pool if he is brought to trial. But the judge ordered the livestreaming of Wednesday's hearing over YouTube to be delayed by...

WELLINGTON: Internet mogul Kim Dotcom has announced plans to relaunch his Megaupload empire in 2017, exactly five years after US authorities shut it down over allegations of massive copyright piracy. The file-sharing service was once the 13th most visited site on the internet, a New Zealand court heard last year, with 50 million daily users accounting for four percent of global web traffic. But it all came crashing down in January 2012, when the FBI shut down Megaupload's servers and New Zealand police raided Dotcom's Auckland mansion.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Kim Dotcom and three colleagues face an extradition hearing that began Monday in an Auckland courtroom. Dotcom is the colorful German-born entrepreneur who started the Internet site Megaupload, which was shut down by federal authorities in 2012. Here's what's at stake: